


My Sweet Summer Child

by SergeantFreezerburn



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 23:05:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 7,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9570830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SergeantFreezerburn/pseuds/SergeantFreezerburn
Summary: “Oh I’m just here for a family reunion, you know? The classic ‘exploring your roots’ kinda thing. Hear it’s quite common.”Perplexed, Steve studied her face more intensely. It was impossible, and yet …AKAThe Winter Soldier has a daughter and things happen.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All the technical terms are entirely made up.
> 
> I know nothing.
> 
> How does it work, you ask?
> 
> Science.
> 
> And when in question, pun is always intended.
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated :)
> 
> UPDATE: I wrote this pre Black Panther so Wakanda is probably not MCU accurate. Doesn't really matter tho I don't think.

  _Wakanda. Night._

  
A few dozen monitors radiated an eerie, shimmery-blue glow enlightening the otherwise barely lit control room.

  
A faint beeping tone cut almost violently through the silent facility.

  
Not less than thirteen security officials watched the CCTV feed on the screens in front of them, giving them their full attention.

  
Every five minutes they broke the silence to communicate with the other surveillance teams scattered across the massive complex.

  
(“Radar?” – “Clear” – “Thermo-sensors?” – “Clear.” – “Visual?” – “Clear.” – “Audio?” – “Clear.”)

  
Surrounded by nothing but mountains, compact jungle and no sign of civilization for miles and miles, the first-class security network may seem out of place.

Unless you knew what they were guarding.

  
It was close to midnight when Agent Four noticed something on one of the screens out of the corner of his eye.

  
Following protocol, he informed his superior and filled a record.

 

_11:52 pm – CCTV #21 – Entrance Area – Agent 4_

_Visual, moving shadow, unconfirmed by other divisions, singular occurrence._

 

They knew the drill.

  
If a plant so much as moved out of the ordinary, they took notice of it.

  
Nothing was too unimportant to be addressed.

  
Securing the building had highest priority.

  
For over eight years there hadn’t been a single security breach on any level.

   
Too bad this night marked the day they had to reset the counter.

   
It took exactly eight minutes.

   
On the stroke of midnight, someone knocked.

   
Wait.

   
What?

   
Twelve years of active duty as Head of Security, you would think you’ve seen it all.

   
“Repeat.”

  
“There is someone knocking on the front entrance, sir.”

   
Well, that was new.

   
“Send down defense unit immediately. I want all surveillance on entrance.”

  
“Negative, sir. No response from any unit. Nothing picked up by surveillance.”

  
“Confirm. Nothing on surveillance and all units down.”

  
“Positive, sir.”

  
Shit.

  
“Initiate lockdown.”

  
“Lockdown initiated. Active in three, two, one-“

  
Suddenly, all lights were cut off.

  
“Report.”

  
“Lockdown failed. All systems off-line.”

  
“Restart.”

  
“Initiating re-start of all systems.”

  
Well this was bad.

  
“Call the back-up. Every one you can go without down with the subject.”

  
“Roger, sir”

 


	2. Chapter 2

Steve Rogers was woken up by the alarm, red lights flashing from the ceiling and high pitched sirens. 

  
Immediately fully awake and alert, it took him almost no time to suit up.

  
He had known this day would come sooner or later.

  
Always hoped for later.

  
Plugging in his earpiece, he checked the clock.

  
Two minutes after midnight.

  
A brief static noise announced the communication line was open.

  
“Captain Rogers. Security breach entrance. Black Panther on his way down.”

  
Routinely, Steve took in the instructions.

  
“Where is he?”

  
“Unharmed. All dispensable men are with him.”

  
That was what he needed to hear.

 

* * *

 

“Hi.”

  
Steve blinked. He had expected pretty much anything. Except this.

  
An instant later, two dozen riffles pointed at the figure in front of him.

  
The person not looking like a threat at all.

  
She didn’t even seem to be armed.

  
Instead, she stared at the weapons aimed at her.

  
“Really?” she looked back and forth between Steve and the defence squad. “You think I’m here to kill him? I mean, I knocked and everything.” 

  
She seemed mildly confused.

  
“Does that seem likely to you?” Raising an eyebrow and smirking dismissively, she somehow reminded Steve of Natasha.

  
“I would have called, but I couldn’t find you in the directory. One might almost think you don’t want to be found.” 

  
“What are you here for?” Steve wasn’t planning on letting down his guard for even an instant. Not without a very good reason. As harmless as she looked, he wasn’t going to take any chances. Too much was at stake.

  
“Oh I’m just here for a family reunion, you know? The classic ‘exploring your roots’ kinda thing. Hear it’s quite common.”

  
Perplexed, Steve studied her face more intensely. It was impossible, and yet …

  
Something in his expression must have changed, since she smiled at him and said, “Willing to believe me?”

  
Directed at the soldiers, she added, “Chill out fellas, big guy over here thinks I’m harmless. Anyways, isn’t it a little rude to leave guests standing out in the cold like this? Manners, guys, manners are everything. That’s why I knocked.”

 

* * *

 

“And who are you then? My stepdad?”

  
“What!?”

  
She smirked at him. “I read about you. In the museum. So I figured, you know, you and James – “

  
“ _No_.” Steve said more harshly than intended. “No I mean, Bucky is my friend, my best friend, but not like that.”

  
She gave him a weird look. “Uh huh.” She turned to T’challa. “Anyways. Any chance I might meet him sometime?”

  
“Not likely to be any time soon.” Something in Steve’s voice made her furrow her brow in concern.

  
“What is hat supposed to mean?” And when Steve avoided her eyes, she added, “What did you  _do_?”

  
T’challa exchanged a meaningful look with Steve. “Think we should show her?”

  
Steve sighed. “We might as well.”


	3. Chapter 3

“You  _froze_  him? What the fuck were you thinking?”

  
“He wanted it this way.” The sadness in Steve’s voice didn’t escape her.

  
“And you  _let him_? Way to run from your feelings, Rogers.”

  
“I told you-”

  
“Yeah whatever. And what the hell am I supposed to do now?”

  
She paced in front of the cryo-chamber. “I didn’t come all this way for this.”

  
“Why did you come in the first place?”

  
She stopped in her tracks, lifting her head to face Steve. “What do you mean?”

  
“Why are you here? What do you want from him?”

  
She stood silently for a moment. “I, I don’t know. I just thought that – “

  
She was struggling for words.

  
“You’re right. I don’t need to be here. This was a stupid idea. If you don’t mind, I will go and do whatever.”

  
But she didn’t leave. Motionless, she just stood there and stared at Steve. Stared at him with those blue eyes that shouldn’t be so familiar to him.

  
Apparently, she expected him to say something. He had to drop his gaze to the floor to think. Her eyes … they we’re just too much for him.

  
Because – 

  
Because she was Bucky’s daughter.

  
But- ?

  
“But how can you be his daughter?” Steve asked, letting his confusion truly show for the first time.

  
She gave him a weird look he wasn’t sure how to interpret.

  
“Being a brain-washed Hydra assassin doesn’t exactly give you time to pick up women, Steven.”

  
It seemed like she was mocking him. Again. He somehow thought he’d have to get used to it.

  
T’challa didn’t care about any of that. All business, he asked “Then what happened?”

  
“How am I supposed to know? They took his DNA, did some science and voilá, there I was.” She smiled cruelly. “Those misogynists were rather disappointed that the only lasting outcome of their experiment turned out to be a girl.”

  
“Wait, are there more of you?”

  
“There were. The others didn’t make it. Not sure why. I guess it’s trial and error.”

  
Her voice was so cold, so emotionless as she said this, it sent Steve shivers down his spine. 

  
She sighed. “Okay, well, if there is nothing else you want to know, I’ll just leave. I know the way, no worries.”

  
She was about to march out of their lives as abruptly and unexpected as she had stormed in.

  
But Steve was not going to let that happen.

  
She was Bucky’s daughter after all.

  
“Wait.”

  
Already halfway through the door, she stopped but didn’t turn around.

  
“We – you could help. Help him.”

  
She didn’t reply, just stood silently in the doorway.

  
“You went through some things he did too, right? And you are - related. You could help us find a way to help him. So we can wake him up.”

  
Still facing away from them, Steve couldn’t read her expression but heard the smile in her voice.

  
“I want the room with the good view.”


	4. Chapter 4

Sometimes, Steve still had trouble sleeping. He would wander around the building trying to calm his mind and feeling like himself again. He didn’t usually meet anyone, apart from the obligatory security guards.

  
Tonight, however, he hear muffled voices behind one of the doors. When he stepped closer, he was able to make out some of the spoken words.

  
_“Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield-“_

  
How on earth-

  
Without thinking twice, he opened the door and entered the usually unoccupied room.

  
A small figure, dimly lit by the projections on the wall in front of her, sat on the floor in the middle of the room.

  
Steve knew the films. He had spent many times lurking around in the Smithsonian to watch them. It had made him feel closer to the past. To the ones he had lost. To Bucky.

  
“Hey.” Her soft voice tore his attention away from the pictures in front of him.

  
Him and Bucky, laughing like they had no care in the world.

  
She moved a little, patting her hand on the floor. “Wanna join me?”

  
Wordlessly, he simply nodded and dropped down next to her.

  
For a while, they sat there in silence, watching.

  
Until he couldn’t bear watching anymore.

  
“Where did you get these?” His voice was a little raspy, trying to sound casual.

  
“The Smithsonian,” she said.

  
“You stole from the museum and nobody noticed.”

  
“You gotta talk.” She gave him the side-eye. “Was much harder than it used to be, I heard. Some punk once stole the Captain America uniform they had on display. Some old night guard got fired for that.”

  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  
She smirked. “Of course not.” She turned her attention back to the projections.

  
“Why did you take them?”

  
She didn’t turn to him this time, eyes straight forward.

  
“It helps.”

  
Pause.

  
“He was good, wasn’t he? A good man. Before they took him.”

  
Steve gulped down the tight feeling in his throat.

  
“He was.”  _He is._

  
“I like to think that makes me better, too. That I’m not completely messed up. I look at these and I read about him, about both of you, and it gives me hope. That there is something in me worth surviving for.”

  
She sounded old, much older than she looked. Steve knew the feeling. All three of them did.

  
“When it gets harder, when I feel like I’m losing control again, when I can hear their voices in my head, when it feels like falling and there is nothing but darkness, they bring some light into my life.” 

  
She shifted a little, pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

  
“I lied.”

  
Steve waited silently for her to elaborate.

  
“I knew what I came here for. I wanted to meet him. I wanted to see that they didn’t break him, not completely. I wanted to know that he still was that, that he still was good. I wanted to see that they didn’t kill James Buchanan Barnes. Because he was everything I ever had. Even when I had nothing else.”

  
She couldn’t have possibly known that Steve once said that, too. A wave of sympathy for the girl rolled over him. Instinctively, he laid an arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer. She stiffened at first, like she was unused to being touched tenderly. Which she was, probably. But the tension left her body and she leaned against him.

  
He wanted to ask her what she had been through. What they did to her. How she got away. But for now, all that mattered was that they were safe, that she was with them, that no one was going to hurt her again. Not while Steve was here to protect her.


	5. Chapter 5

“So,” she waved at him with her spoon, dripping over the counter, “The real question is: Is Captain America a cornflakes or a bacon and eggs kinda man?” She smirked at him while he walked past her to get to the coffee machine.

  
“Neither,” he answered, pouring coffee in one of the huge mugs that always seemed to be standing around. He turned, coffee clutched in both hands and leaning against the counter top. “I’m a huge fan of waffles.”

  
“Of course you are.” She got up to dump her empty bowl in the kitchen sink.

  
“Don’t forget the leave some for me if you ever come around to making some.”

  
He chuckled. “I’m not sure that would do either of us any good.”

  
“Are you telling me that Captain  _fucking_  America can fight of alien invasions with nothing but a fancy frisbee but cooking is too much for him?”

  
She seemed torn between amusement and disbelief.

  
“How the heck did you survive all this time, Steven?”

  
She always called him Steven. He was getting used to it.

  
He stared into his coffee for a second. “Bucky was the one who cooked.”

  
“Oh,” the teasing tone had dropped from her voice.

  
“Yeah.”

  
The stood in silence for a moment.

  
“Well,” she walked over to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Luckily, you have me now. Not only am I an amazing chef, but also an incredible teacher.”

  
“Where did you learn to cook?” He asked before he could stop himself. Her past was still a slippery road.

  
But she didn’t seem upset. “Had some downtime when I first came to New York. Needed to occupy myself. Food helped.”


	6. Chapter 6

“He nearly killed me once, you know?” she said in a by-the-way kind of fashion.

  
Steve tried to hide his shock. Instead, he quietly waited for her to elaborate.

  
He did that a lot.

  
“They - they tested us. All of us. You were only good enough to be preserved if you could stand the Winter Soldier.” 

  
Her voice assumed this raspy, emotionless tone that often creeped into her speech when she was talking about her past at Hydra.

  
“So they set me up against him. I wasn’t – I wasn’t strong enough. He had me on the ground, he had his hand on my throat, ready to kill me.” 

  
She looked up to meet Steve’s eyes and what he saw in them startled him.

  
“He was so close to my face, I – I looked into his eyes, Steven. They were dead. There was nothing, nothing but a perfectly functioning machine. He was all Hydra. They had stripped him from everything he ever was and took his place. He was ready to kill me, just like any of the others. And when - when I felt myself slipping away, I saw that face again. That face that has been haunting me all my life. But this time, there was a name. A name to the face. I stared in these deadly eyes and heard myself whisper:  _Steve_.” 

  
She inhaled sharply, she didn’t seem to be actually seeing Steve when she looked at him.

  
“And I saw him change. There was – there was a flicker, a hesitation. He stopped. And for the first time, I saw the man he once was. Seventy years of brainwashing and cryo and all it takes was hearing your name, Steven. Don’t you ever forget that.”

  
After sitting in silence for a moment, she seemed to catch herself and, not meeting Steve’s eyes, abruptly got up and left him sitting alone in the empty room.


	7. Chapter 7

“It’s the first time he’s woken up for anything else than killing people.”

  
“I know.”

  
She gave him a concerned look. “What if that is enough to snap him back into it? What if none of this will work? What if-“

  
He interrupted her by laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder, squeezing it softly.

  
“Hey. It’ll be alright. He will be alright.”

  
They walked into the room crammed with people in white lab coats, T’Challa watching over them from the side.

  
She hesitated.

  
“Maybe it’s better when I wait outside. He doesn’t know me after all. Or well –“ she made a grimace, “he doesn’t know me as anything else than the girl he couldn’t kill. If he remembers that at all.”

  
She winced at the thought. 

  
Quietly, she added “They tortured him after that. Recalibrated him or whatever. It was my fault. It would have been easier had he just killed me.”

  
Steve was about to protest, but he knew her well enough by now to know it wouldn’t change her mind. She was stubborn like that. Didn’t think she deserved people doing anything for her. She was alike  _him_ , in that way.

  
After a while of busy preparation, the white coats cleared out of the room. Only the ones absolutely necessary for the procedure remained.

  
Steve tried to tell himself this was out of convenience rather than precaution.

  
She stayed at the back of the room, slightly out of view from the chamber.

  
Steve went to meet T’Challa, who was standing right in front of it.

  
Not looking at Steve, he asked “Are you sure about this?”

  
“Always,” he replied without hesitation. 

  
He trusted Bucky. He knew they found a way to deal with his issues. And when they put him into cryo, he was almost himself again. He ignored the faint hints of doubt in the back of his head.

  
He knew him.

  
So he gave one of the doctors the sign to start the procedure.

  
In an obscure way, he wondered if this was how the others felt like when he himself was locked in a chamber not to different from this one, and no one knew for sure who would step out of it.

  
If this was how Peggy had felt.

  
The ice on the window began to melt. With a fizzling sound, white fog emerged from the seals around the door.

  
T’Challa looked over to Steve.

  
He understood the sign.

  
Stepping forward, he felt the muscles in his back tighten and couldn’t deny the nervousness that made his stomach rumble.

  
The chamber’s front dislodged itself from the rest and slid upwards.

  
Steve tried to suppress the strain in his voice when he said, “Bucky?”

  
They could see his eyes moving behind closed lids. He shifted almost unnoticeably. Then, he opened his eyes and looked right at Steve.

  
Steve tried the most reassuring smile he could manage.

  
Behind him, he could feel T’Challa getting tense, preparing for the worst.

  
But Bucky just stared at Steve. He seemed to be taking in his surroundings.

  
“Hey buddy,” Steve said softly, getting worried as Bucky remained silent. Until the later broke into an uncertain smile and replied.

  
“Hey.”

  
With a sigh, Steve let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

  
Bucky was now full-on smirking.

  
“How long’s it been? I know you’re well known for waiting too long, Stevie.”

  
Steve couldn’t help but laugh at that, even though he knew this was neither time nor place.

  
“I promised. As soon as we found a way to help you-“

  
“So you did, then?”

  
“Yeah.” Steve unintentionally glanced over his shoulder. “We had a little help.”

  
Bucky followed his gaze. And then it happened.

  
All the life drained from his eyes, the smile still half frozen on his lips.

  
He leaped forward, past Steve who wasn’t quick enough to catch up on what had happened, and even past T’Challa, who had silently been prepared for the worst yet wasn’t fast enough to react.

  
Within the blink of an eye, he had her pinned to the wall, not even thrown off balance by his missing arm.

  
His right hand was closed on her throat, holding her up by her neck high enough for lifting her of the ground.

  
But she didn’t react.

  
She didn’t fight back.

  
She just stared into his eyes, paralysed.

  
A chocking sound escaped her lips, but she did nothing to try to escape his grip.

  
She heard someone rushing towards them, yelling something.

  
She didn’t understand what the voice said.

  
She was too mesmerized by what was in front of her.

  
His cold, deadly eyes didn’t move away from hers for even an instant.

  
She felt a shadow falling over them, and suddenly the force that has been holding her up was gone.

  
Slowly, she slid down the wall, and in her blurry vision she could only make out schemes moving in front of her.

  
Then she felt nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

Something was stuck in her nose.

  
Instinctively, she wanted to raise her hand to touch her face.

  
A numb pain shot through her arm as she did that.

  
Looking down, she discovered a long needle was stuck in the back of her hand, secured with medical tape.

  
She tried to move her head to get a better look at her surroundings, but something seemed to be attached to her face.

  
She realized she was connected to a breathing hose and several other wires.

  
She moved her head to the left as far as she could manage.

  
The glass wall adjourning the room she was in was partly covered with half-opened blinds.

  
Behind them, she could make out two tall figures, one dark and one blonde.

  
They seemed to be talking passionately, discussing something she couldn’t hear.

  
When one of them, the dark one, turned into her direction, she quickly got back into her original position, somehow not wanting then to know she was watching them.

  
The other one, the taller blonde one, made attempts to go into her room. But he didn't make it quite to the door, apparently stopped by whatever the other one was saying.

  
Finally, he did turn the doorknob and entered, the other following close behind him.

  
She shut her eyes closed.

  
"...will be fine, Buck," the blonde was saying as he stepped into the room.

  
"Stevie." The other one's voice was deeper than she'd expected, but you could hear the affection towards the man he addressed. "I tried to kill her," he said bluntly.

  
"You weren't yourself. And the treatment worked, didn't it? She helped you. She did. And she won't hold this against you, I know that."

  
"But she should."

  
Silence.

  
Then the blonde inquired "What?"

  
"It's just-" the other one sounded weird, emotional. "She looks like her."

  
"I know. That's what I saw when I first met her."

  
"I still can't believe it. She really is my daughter, isn't she?"

  
The blonde chuckled. "In more than one way."

  
"What's that supposed to mean?"

  
"She's sassy. And hella sarcastic. She keeps calling me Steven. Oh and she's always joking about -" at that, he abruptly went silent.

  
"About what."

  
"Never mind." She couldn't see his face, but it sounded like he was blushing.

  
The other one just snorted.

  
They had been talking quietly, as if not to disturb her.

  
She thought she had heard them before, when she wasn't fully conscious.

  
She thought she remembered a dark figure beside her, watching over her, waiting. 

  
And the voices ... they sounded familiar. Especially the blonde’s. She felt save with him.

  
But the other one ... he reminded her of someone, someone she thought she ought to know.

  
"When will she wake up?" It was the dark one, concern in his voice.

  
"Doc said any minute."

  
"Maybe I should leave then."

  
"Don't be stupid. You have more reason to be her than I do."

  
"You know that's not true. From what you've told me ... you took care of her."

  
"Well," she could hear him shifting a little, "we had something we could bond over."

  
When the other didn't reply anything, he sighed.

  
"It was you, you idiot. She came here to see the infamous James Buchanan Barnes, no one else."

  
A piercing pain rushed through her head.

  
And it all came back to her.

  
The cryo.

  
The waking up.

  
The chocking.

  
She sucked in a sharp breath, eyes wide open.

  
Steve and Bucky looked at her.

  
Bucky's face fell when he looked at her, something in her expression caused him to inch towards the door. But Steve laid a hand on his left arm.

  
It was only then she noticed that he did indeed have a left arm. Metal, like the one before, but without the red star and simpler looking, less like a murderous weapon and more like an actual prosthesis.

  
Steve let go of Bucky after he seemed sure that the latter wasn't going to bail.

  
"Hey," he said softly and stepped closer to the bed. "Glad you're awake. Thought all these waffles I made were going to waste.

  
Her voice was raspy, a little strained when she replied.

 

"Would be better for everyone." She tried a smile.

  
He returned it. "Yep, she's definitely yours." Steve half turned to give Bucky a look.

  
She, too, fixed her eyes on him.

  
He shifted and seemed to be uncomfortable.

 

"Are you okay?" He said, dropping his eyes to avoid her gaze. "I'm, I'm so sorry."


	9. Chapter 9

They sat in awkward silence for a moment.

  
Bucky lifted his right hand to ruffle through his hair. He did that a lot when he was nervous, she noted.

  
“So,” he said in a forcefully casual tone.

  
“So,” she said.

  
“You, you are-“ he struggled for words.

  
“Your daughter? Yep.” She let out a little laugh. “Guess hearing some stranger say that is a man’s ultimate fear, right?”

  
He just stared at her.

  
“Sorry.” She waved with her hand. “I do that when I’m nervous. The sarcasm thing.”

  
“Yeah, me too.”

  
They sat in silence again.

  
“Listen,” he finally began, “I don’t really know what to tell you. I’m, I’m not a dad. I’m barely even human at this point I guess.” He smirked at that.

  
“That’s alright. Steven is much more of a dad anyways.”

  
He chuckled. “Is he?”

  
“He made me breakfast the other day.”

  
“I’m sorry.”

  
“Nah, it was fine. I taught him how to cook.”

  
He raised an eyebrow. “Really.”

  
She smiled at his obvious doubt about that. “Wasn’t easy. He’s a little hopeless in that area of expertise.”

  
“You don’t have to tell me. I lived with that guy for years.”

  
They both just kind of smiled at each other, not knowing what else to say.

  
Suddenly, Bucky’s expression grew graver. He wringed his hands and avoided her eyes.

  
“I’m sorry I tried to-“

  
“Never mind.”

  
“No really, I should have-“

  
She waved it off. “It’s not like it was the first time”

  
He stared at her in horror. “What.”

  
“No big deal. Back at Hydra, they wanted to see how good I was. Set me up against their best soldier. Didn’t go well.”

  
“I- I don’t remember” he seemed genuinely surprised at that. “Usually, I can remember them.”

  
“Doesn’t surprise me. After what happened, the probably re-set you or whatever they do.” Then, realising what she had just said she looked at him in concern. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“

  
“It’s alright.” But she could tell by his face that that wasn’t quite the truth. “Wait, what do you mean ‘after what happened’?”

  
“When you tried to kill me the first time, you broke through the brainwashing.” She searched for his eyes. “I said ‘Steve’”

  
“Oh.” He sat back on the couch. Then, he crunched his forehead in confusion. “How did you know him?”

  
“I didn’t. Never met him until a few weeks ago. I – I don’t know. Sometimes, I thought I was dreaming and I saw this face – his face. Has always been that way.”

  
“But how-“

  
She shrugged. “Science. Don’t ask me. But after you straight-up stopped wanting to kill me when you heard his name, I figured he had to be important. That’s why I searched for him when I got away.”

  
She grinned. “Thought it had to be hard finding someone with nothing but a face and a name. Until I went to New York. Imagine my shock when I saw that same exact face plastered all over and was told he was  _the_  American hero.”

  
She shook her head. “Heck, they even had a display at the museum. Which is where I found out about you too. They idolized you quite a bit though. And I think I liked the short hair better by the way.” She shot him a glance.

  
He tucked away a few strands of hair behind his ear. “Yeah, me too.”

  
“Was a cool expo though, as long as it lasted.”

  
“Why, what happened to it? They got bored of us?”

  
“No. I stole it.”

  
He glared at her in disbelief.

  
“You stole an entire exposition from a museum.”

  
“Hey, you don’t need to lecture me. I know stealing is bad. Won’t do it again, I promise,” she said sarcastically.

  
“But …why?”

  
The question seemed to make her uncomfortable. “I wanted to know about you. The real you. And I didn’t feel like spending all my time there so I took the things home.”

  
“Okay.” he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about this.


	10. Chapter 10

“You look horrible.”

  
“Jeez, thanks Cap, you getting soft in your old age?”

  
Clint did look horrible. Steve didn’t ask. He wasn’t an Avenger anymore. He did ask about the girl standing next to Clint, looking slightly less banged up.

  
“That’s Kate.”

  
“Okay?”

  
“She’s staying with you for a while.”

  
“Okay?” Steve repeated at the same time the girl – Kate – said “She’s not.”

  
Steve looked confused.

  
Clint looked tired.

  
Kate looked annoyed.

  
“Oh, she so is.” Clint said in a way that made it obvious it was not up for discussion.

  
“Why?” Not that Steve was complaining. But you have the right to know why you're taking in yet another kid, right?

  
“It’s safe here. Needs to lay low for a bit.”

  
“Okay.”

  
With that, Clint gave a mock salute, turned on his heels and left Steve and Kate standing in the doorway.

  
“Um.”

  
They turned to find Bucky standing behind them.

  
“Hi?”

  
“This is Kate.” Steve offered as explanation.

  
Bucky looked at the girl.

  
“I’m Kate.”

  
“Right. Cool.”

  
They stood in silence for a moment.

  
“I’m Bucky.”

  
Kate snorted. “You don’t say.”

  
Great. Another one. Steve wondered if all the kids these days lived and breathed sarcasm. Probably.

  
“Where’s your sweet summer child?” Kate asked into the silence that stretched between them.

  
“Um.” Bucky offered.

  
Kate looked at them sceptically. “Right. You’re basically grandpas. It’s funny ‘cause you’re the Winter Soldier. Get it?”

  
“Yeah?” Bucky said. He didn’t get it.

  
“Anyway, she stays away from my girlfriend.”

  
That was random.

  
“Okay?”

  
“I’m just saying, ‘cause her name is America. And she happens to dress in patriotic colours. She’ll say it’s ironically but whatever. So – “ she looked pointedly at Bucky and Steve, “since she’s a Barnes, she stays away from America. In case  _this_ ” – she gestured towards them – “runs in the family.”

  
Without waiting for their response, she rushed past them. To find herself a room. Or some food. Or some bandages.

  
Not that Steve cared much. He was too busy staring at that one really interesting spot at the wall.

  
Well, this is gonna be fun.


	11. Chapter 11

“I think you should consider it though. It’s what you do.” Kate said earnestly.

  
“Ugh.” She threw an arm over her eyes and sunk even deeper into the couch to stress her point.

  
“I get that you guys aren’t exactly the perfect American family but some things should be done.”

  
“Like, right now?”

  
“Well, no, I mean, whenever you feel ready and shit but like. Just in general.”

  
She sighed. “Okay then.”

 

"Hey, no pressure, you obviously don't have to if- I was just-"

 

"Shh. Let me do this."

 

She got up and marched out of the room and headed towards the main living area, Kate following close behind.

  
Without any preamble she blurted out, “Hey dad, I’m gay.”

  
Bucky didn’t even look up from the paper he was reading. “Cool, me too.”

  
They heard chocking sounds from the kitchen.

  
She just dropped down on the couch next to him while Kate still stood where she left her, perplexed.

  
When she exchanged a mischievous smirk with him, Kate looked at them in disbelieve.

  
“You two planned this?”

  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She picked up one of the books from the table in front of her.

  
Meanwhile, Bucky got up and walked over to Steve who was standing in the kitchen, still struggling to breathe. He patted him on the back. “Sorry Stevie, I owed her.”

  
“For what?” Kate seemed unsure how to react.

  
“Like, seventy missed birthdays.”

  
Kate gave her a disapproving look. “You’re horrible.”

  
“Am not.”

  
“I’m … fine” Steve pressed, out of breath.

  
Bucky chuckled. “Sure”

 

* * *

 

   
“Hey so I found this lying around and thought maybe one of you-“ she walked into the room, looking down at the papers she was holding.

  
When she finally lifted her head, she saw them jumping apart from what must have been a somehow compromising position.

  
Pointedly, she stared at the ceiling. “Dads, not in front of the kids please.”

  
“We we’re just-“

  
“Don’t tell me. Here, I just-“ she extended her arm to hand over the papers.

  
“Take these.” She tossed them on the kitchen table, still staring at the ceiling and backed out of the room.

  
When she was halfway down the corridor, she could hear Bucky laughing.

  
And a muffled “jerk” in response.

 

* * *

 

 

Steve sighed. He gave Bucky an exasperated look. “She’s yours. You deal with that.”

  
Bucky ignored him and kept shovelling big spoonfuls of cornflakes in his mouth.

  
She kept tearing a slice of bread apart and throwing it at Steve. Little pieces got caught in his hair.

  
He attempted to simply pretend she wasn’t there. Until he couldn’t do that anymore.

  
“Alright young lady-“ but his choice of words was poor.

  
“Ohmygoddidyoujustmyladymestevenyouah-“ she was cut off as she fell backwards into the sink she had been sitting on, shaking with laughter.

  
Steve stared blankly at her for a second. Then he, too, burst into laughter.

  
She struggled to get out of the sink and her face had adapted to the faintest shade of red.

  
“Shut up,” she hissed at him.

  
Bucky just shook his head and kept eating his cereal.

  
Steve was still howling with laughter like a madman.

  
“Shut up,” she sounded torn between anger and embarrassment “Or I’ll tell him about The Incident.”

  
Steve went silent and glared at her. “You wouldn’t.”

  
By now, Bucky had picked up interest in the conversation. 

  
“What incident?” he wanted to know.

  
“Nothing.” Steve was a little too fast to say.

  
“Ohh, it certainly wasn’t nothing,” she teased him and turned towards Bucky “if it was, Steven over here wouldn’t have begged me not to tell you, now would he?”

  
Bucky raised an eyebrow and looked inquiringly at Steve. Now it was his turn to blush.

  
“What are you hiding from me, punk?”

  
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest, watching Steve expectantly.

  
“Yeah Steven, what are you hiding from him?”


	12. Chapter 12

Steve regretted every life choice he ever made as he was stared down by not one but two pairs of piercing blue eyes and matching grins.

  
How had he ended up here?

  
He took in the scene in front of him.

  
Bucky, alive and … himself. Here, today. With him. Sure, they had changed. Both of them. They weren’t sixteen anymore. They weren’t living in 1940s Brooklyn anymore. Steve didn’t get into back alley fights anymore. Bucky didn’t have to drag opponents away from him that were twice Steve’s size anymore. Steve didn’t have to hide anymore. The world had changed.

  
Somehow, having Bucky here, as strange and difficult and incredibly wonderful as it had been, it seemed natural. There wasn’t a single version of his life in which Steve could picture himself without Bucky.  _Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers._ Never a question or a possibility. Always the only answer that mattered. The one constant in his life.

  
And … Bucky’s daughter.

  
They had talked about it. Before. Before the war and Captain America and the Alps and the train and Hydra and the Winter Soldier. They had talked about kids and marriage and the life they thought they might have one day. As anyone would. Only, they weren’t just anyone anymore.

  
And yet here they were. They got to have this. Whatever this was. They got to be together and at least pretend they were just regular people spending a lazy morning together. A regular family.

 

_A family._

Steve stopped at that thought. Repeated it in his head. Slowly, carefully, as if it might fall apart and vanish somehow if he wasn’t tender enough. His mother had been the only family he'd ever had. And she had died years ago. Another century. Another life. The Avengers were the closest he had to a family in this new world. But for them, he would always be Cap. Not Steve. Not really. He wouldn’t want to miss the relationship he had with each of them. They were his team. His friends. But they were never his family.

  
Bucky was. Bucky had always been that. Being with him was like coming home. Seeing him in this new century, all that time ago on the bridge, it had been like waking up a second time. Truly waking up.

  
And as Steve watched Bucky pull some of the crumbs that she had initially thrown at Steve from her hair, and her absent-mindedly pulling his bowl of cereal closer and taking a spoonful without listening to Bucky’s protest, as Steve watched the two most important people in his live being happy and at ease, he couldn’t help but smile.

Those two, who had endured more hardship and pain and abuse than anyone ever should, them being here together and safe was simply the most wonderful thing he could imagine. And even though every time when she was having one of her nightmares or when the water in the shower was too cold and left her screaming and trembling on the ground or when he noticed yet another scar on her, even though he wanted to track down every single Hydra agent that had ever dared to lay a hand on her and burn the whole damn organization into the ground while he was at it, despite all of that he couldn’t help but be thankful for the one good thing they ever created.

  
Did that make him a bad person? Was he selfish for wanting to have her in his life even though it meant she had to go through everything she did to be here? He wasn’t sure. And to be perfectly honest, he didn’t care too much. This wasn’t about him. But he swore to himself, right then and there, as he had done many other times, that he would do everything in his power to protect her.

 

_Until the end of the line._

 

* * *

 

 

“Dad?”

  
“Mhm?”

  
“Is it just me or is your boyfriend over there smiling like a moron.”

  
“Mhm.”

  
“Does he think that’s gonna get him off the hook. Because. Absolutely not.”

  
“Mhm.”

  
“You know, if I get the rest of you cereal I might just tell you what he's tryna hide from you.”

  
“Mhm.”

  
“…Right.”

 

“…”

 

“Are you just gonna stare at him like a lovesick puppy. 'Cause I’m not staying here for that.”

 

“…”

 

“Oooookay. I’ll be in Kate’s room in case anyone cares.”

 

“Mhm.”

 

“Oh, and dad?”

 

“Mhm?”

 

“We eat on that table.”

 

“…”

 

“Alrightthatsthatbye-”

 

“...Wait, what?”

 

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU I’M ALREADY GONE LOOK AT ME BEING GONE-“

 

“He’s not – we’re not – hey where are you going don’t you just-“

 

“WHAT’S THAT? CAN’T BE BUCKY ‘CAUSE HE IS BUSY CONTAMINATING OUR KITCHEN-”

 

“I am doing no such-“

 

“GOD BLESS AMERICA, AMIRIGHT?”

 

* * *

 

 

Everything was fine.

 

Everything was more than fine, actually.

 

So naturally, everything went to shit.

 


	13. Chapter 13

“I’m just saying, with this family tradition you guys got going on, I think you should stay away from heights.” Somehow Kate managed to ace at target practice at the same time as elaborating on her theory on what she called the ‘family curse’.

 

“Kate, don’t be ridiculous.”

 

“Look at the evidence! The train in the Alps. The Valkyrie. The Helicarrier in D.C. Your dads have a habit of falling down from shit and dying.”

 

“ _Almost_  dying, Kate. Almost. And diving head first into the Atlantic, air plane included, doesn't really count as falling. So, unless you have a surprise trip planned that takes us to the Alps and add some Hydra agents into the mix, I guess I’m gonna be fine.”

 

“I just want you to stay safe once I’m gone.”

 

“Right, cause I was such a damsel in distress without you.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Ugh.”

 

Kate lowered her bow and turned to face her. She seemed to mull over something.

 

“Seriously, take care, yeah?”, Kate finally said while averting her eyes and shooting another arrow at the target. It hit right in centre.

 

“I’m a lab experiment raised by a bunch of Nazis in Second World War Russia. I think I can manage,” she deadpanned and swung her legs down from the window sill she had be sitting on. She walked over to Kate, placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes with a serious expression on her face. “But thanks for your concern.” She seemed earnest enough. Until. “Almost makes me feel bad about stealing your girlfriend. Did America tell you? It's official now.”

 

Kate just stared at her in disbelief. Then she sighed. “Why. Are you. Like this.”

 

“What can I say? I’m a Barnes. Some stars and stripes and I simply can’t help myself.” She smirked at that. “It’s genetics. Science. Don’t argue with science.”

 

“Ugh.”

 

They both stood in silence for a moment.

 

“So”, Kate said.

 

“So”, she replied.

 

They just kinda stared at each other.

 

“I guess that’s goodbye then.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

They stared at each other some more.

 

“Okay. Bye.”

 

“Bye.”

 

“Wow.” They both turned to look up at the ceiling where Clint was perched on one of the air vents. “You two.” He pointed at them. “Great at emotions. I am touched. Aren’t they great, Cap?”

 

Steve appeared on top of the staircase leading down to the shooting range. “You know, you should stop calling me Cap at some point,” he replied without answering his question.

 

Clint rubbed his chin, as if considering that.

 

“Ah, yeah, no, not gonna happen. That would be weird. What would I call you then?”

 

Steve just shook his head slightly and smiled at him.

 

“Exactly. Would be so confusing. We’re not doing that. Anyway – “, Clint lowered himself to the same level Steve was standing on, “- as much as I enjoyed catching up with you -  thanks for the coffee by the way - I’m actually on a somewhat tight schedule. We both are.”

 

A non-committal grunt from Kate. But she did make her way over to the stairs and reached Clint and Steve just as the former pulled the other into a one-armed hug and all but whispered a small “thank you” into Steve’s ear. Kate shoved the bag with her archery equipment into Clint’s arms and commented, “Careful, Hawkguy, you don’t want his boyfriend to get jealous.”

 

Clint snickered at that. He clapped Steve on the back. “Boyfriend, huh? Good for you, man.”

 

Steve had turned into a delightful shade of red. “He’s not – “, but Clint was already waving him off and grinned.

 

And just like that, they were gone.


	14. Chapter 14

He always knew the day would come eventually. The Day of Judgement. The moment he had prepared for all is life. And yet he felt like it came all too sudden. There was no going back. The sense of finality hit him like a brick. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. Seldom had he missed his shield, but right now, right here he wished he had it to hide behind, had anything to-

 

„Stevie?“ Bucky’s voice interupted his internal freak out. Although, judging by the concern showing in the other man’s  voice, it was less internal than very much obvious to anyone around him.

 

Bucky placed one hand on Steve’s shoulder und cupped his cheek with the other, forcing Steve to look at him.

 

„It’s okay. It will be alright. I’m here with you.“

 

„Oh my god.“

 

They both turned to see her visibly judging them, arms crossed and head slighty shaking in disbelief.

 

„One would think you were going into battle or somethinge. Like, you guys fought in a world war. A _world war_.  And you-“, she pointed at Steve, „are Captain _fucking_ America. And you-“, she pointed at Bucky, „are the goddamn Winter Soldier.  So. Can you. Please chill. Just. A little bit? It’s _breakfast_ for fuck’s sake.“

 

They both just stared at her. Then, Steve sighed and hid his face in his hands. Bucky was rubbing his shoulder as a gesture of comfort but when he looked at her she could see the smirk on his lips.

 

 _Let him have this_ , he mouthed.

 

She just gave an exasperated sigh and threw her hands in the air as the universal sign of ‚whatever‘.

 

They sat down and Steve, albeit reluctantly, presented his efforts of this morning.

 

After a few seconds of silence, with Bucky carefully inspecting everything before cautiously going for his first bite, loud clatter made them look up.

 

She had thrown down her cuttlery and looked utterly bedazzled.

 

„Steven,“ she whispered, mortified. "This-" she inclined her head towards her plate, "this is food."

 

Steve looked at her from across the table. Slowly, he said, "I know."

 

"No, I mean like, actual real life food that you could give to people. To eat."

 

"I know?"

 

"But-" she looked at him in complete confusion. "How. _When_."

 

Bucky had followed the exchange quietly but visibly amused. "Didn't you just tell him not to make a fuss about it? 'Cause it seems like you're making a fuss about it."

 

She just stared at him. "Try it."

 

Bucky shrugged and took a bite. After a few seconds, his eyes widened and he turned to look at Steve.

 

Steve was visibly uncomfortable with the amount of attention he was getting.

 

" _Stevie._ "

 

"...Yeah?"

 

"This is food."

 

"Oh my god. I know it is food. That's not-"

 

"No. You don't understand. People could eat this."

 

Steve looked from one of them to the other. "Yes. That's the whole point."

 

"Yeah but-", Bucky was talking to her now, "how is this food?"

 

"I know right? I have no idea when this happened. Before it was just-"

 

"Yeah. You don't have to tell me."

 

"Okay. Stop it you two." Steve leaned back in his chair, arms crossed in front of him. "If it was that terrible, why did you never say so?"

 

"Cause _he_ for one is in love with you, Steven, and _I_ am way too nice to do that to you, didn't wanna break your tiny super-soldier heart. You're such a delicate flower, look at ya."

 

If anything was going to break in the near future, it would have to be the awkward silence that stretched between them.

 

Steve blinked. Looked at her. Looked at Bucky. Looked a bit longer. Until he said, "What."

 

 

That's when she realized.

 

_Well, shit._

 

"You love me?"

 

Bucky managed to look murderous (directed at her) and scared shitless (directed at Steve) at the same time. "What," he said.

 

"You _love_ me?"

 

 _I will kill you,_ he told her with his eyes.

 

"Um," he told Steve.

 

Silence.

 

"...I'm just gonna-" and with that, she was up and fled the room.

 

Well. Okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. Soon (-ish).

**Author's Note:**

> I do some [fanart](https://he-did-him-for-science.tumblr.com/) and also some regular [tumblring](http://shout-out-into-the-void.tumblr.com/).


End file.
